Time Can Do So Much
by wayward-tiger
Summary: Set in AU during WWII, Dean and Cas are faced with the task of keeping their relationship afloat in the midst of emotional warfare. Will the two be able to overcome the upcoming hardships? - I would really appreciate hearing some feedback if possible! Thanks!
1. Angel, I'm Home

Time Can Do So Much

September 17, 1943,

It was a warm evening in Kansas like any other. Dean had just finished closing the small auto shop he'd worked at since he was 20 years old. With grease and sweat still clinging to his clothes, he locked the door behind him and started along the dirt road that led further into town.

It had been five months since Dean took the big leap and moved into a shared apartment with Cas. Not many people besides his close friends and family knew that he was in a steady relationship with Cas. Dean also loved the ladies, so it's not like he was completely looped or anything. Cas was the only man he ever felt any type romantic connection with let alone attraction towards. Dean knew the moment he laid eyes on Cas that he was meant to be with the shorter, sloppy-mop-haired man for the rest of his life.

Dean and Cas had first met three years ago at the local movie theater. They were introduced to each other thanks to some mutual friends who had suggested seeing _Boom Town_ that evening. Dean and Cas hit it off immediately, and somehow managed to sneak away with each other after the show without anyone taking notice. They both shared stories about themselves while they were together that first night. As it turned out, both of the men were somewhat abandoned souls in their own right. Cas was an orphan, raised only with the company of his older brother, Gabriel. Dean was left to raise his younger brother thanks to the abandonment from his overbearing father and deceased mother they had lost to a house fire when he was only a child.

Their lives soon consisted of late nights spent in each other's arms, loving looks, affectionate names, and more happiness than the two had ever experienced before in their lives. They became the center of each other's world undeniably quickly – filling each other's empty voids.

_Actually, it would be exactly three years tomorrow since he had met Cas, _Dean thought. And with that in mind, Dean added a bit more energy to his pace as he turned the street corner, now only three houses away from his shared apartment. Dean hurried down the sidewalk, jumping to the front steps to make his way to the screen door before he entered. The screen door creaked on its hinges when he opened it just enough for him to squeeze through to the kitchen.

"Angel, I'm home." Dean chuckled, sitting himself down into one of the kitchen chairs to take off his work boots.

The kitchen smelled of burnt sauce and overcooked chicken scraps. Dean shook his head comically at remembering that it was Cas' turn to cook dinner tonight. Cas was by no means an iron chef, but he insisted on pulling his weight at home and wanted to help in any way he could. The once unnoticed teapot started to whistle loudly on the stove and shook Dean from his content thoughts. The whistling caused Dean great annoyance, and so he moved himself towards the stove to shut off the burner. The instant he flipped off the burner to the stove, Cas stumbled in through the kitchen doorway.

Cas looked out of breath with his dark, soot-colored hair disheveled and mouth open and panting. His bright Carolina-blue eyes widened when he took in the sight of Dean standing over the stove. A slight blush of red swept over Cas' face, causing Dean to step closer to him.

"I didn't hear you come in…" Cas commented, stepping forward to meet Dean half way.

"It's alright, I just got home. Hasn't even been a full minute yet." Dean smirked, taking Cas' hands in his and leaning forward to kiss him on the lips.

The kiss was short but sweet. Cas continued to move closer into Dean's space, wrapping his arms around the man's slim waist. Dean found himself soon resting his hands on Cas' shoulders, leaning in again for another kiss. This time their kiss made a loud smacking noise as their lips met with equally passionate enthusiasm. They parted again briefly, now looking at each other face to face.

"How was your day?" Dean asked, slowly stretching his fingers into Cas' short and ruffled mess of hair.

"It was the usual, just clearing out and restocking shelves." Cas answered, giving Dean's neck a small nibble.

Cas worked as a librarian in the town's library. It amused Dean to see that his boyfriend held an occupation that required some of best organizational skills possible, while Cas himself always looked like a tired ball of scruff that just rolled out of bed. Cas always dressed sloppily, whether it be the way he wore his tie or buttoned his shirt. But somehow Cas managed to pull off the messy clothes and still gave off the appearance of complete and total sex god. Dean loved that about Cas.

Cas continued to nibble on Dean's neck, slowly working his way up to the sensitive patch of skin behind his ears. Cas sucked on Dean's toffee colored freckles while Dean turned himself around in Cas' hold. Dean now pressed his back into Cas's chest, repositioning his partner's hands to grip his hips. Dean's arms reached around behind him, wrapping around Cas' neck.

"Why don't we just skip dinner and go straight for dessert?" Dean teased, bending his head slightly to allow Cas more access to his sensitive skin.

Cas released a low guttural sound in agreement while shifting the both of their bodies towards the direction of their bedroom. They stumbled over each other until they managed to fling themselves onto the unmade bed. With the lights out and bedroom door closed, the room was pitch-black. Cas staggered around the bed until he managed to prop himself on top of Dean, resting his weight on the younger man's hips.

Cas leaned down and began to undress Dean from his dirtied work clothes, taking in the scent of Dean's sweat. While Cas worked on undressing Dean, Dean hurriedly undid Cas' pants and pulled them down to his ankles.

"Y'know, we should be saving the good stuff for tomorrow night, don't you think?" Dean smirked.

"I don't think I can wait that long, Dean." Cas growled, now positioned hovering above Dean on all fours.

"Well then, don't say I didn't warn you." Dean smiled as he pulled Cas down by his necktie to claim his lips.

The night went on with deep kisses, passionate whispers, and wanton touches.

"Happy anniversary."


	2. Happy Anniversary

September 18, 1943,

Dean and Cas woke up wrapped in each other's arms, with their bodies partially hanging out from underneath the covers. They nuzzled close together and spent their time lying lazily in bed that Saturday morning. It was their three year anniversary, and if they wanted to spend it smothered in blankets and kisses, well then that's their business.

It was around noon that Dean decided to saunter out of bed and into the kitchen in nothing but his underwear. Cas hated to see his source of tender heat leave the bed, but he had to admit that he loved to watch him go. Before exiting the bedroom doorway, Dean blew a kiss in Cas' direction.

"How about I make us some breakfast in bed?" Dean's voice carried through the short hallway into the bedroom.

"I'd love that. But I do believe it would be considered more of a brunch at this hour." Cas started before he let out a wide yawn and stretched his well-rested limbs.

Listening to the sound of Dean preparing their meal from the kitchen, Cas threw the remanding bed sheets off and headed for a new pair of pants. He made his way to the kitchen with a leisurely pace. When he entered the kitchen, he was greeted with the sight of Dean hovering above the stovetop stirring scrambled eggs and tending to simmering strips of fresh bacon.

"It smells wonderful in here." Cas commented as he stalked behind Dean and wrapped his arms around the taller man's waist. There was just something between the two of them where they felt the need and comfort to be so tactile with each other.

"I thought we were doing this in bed?" Dean questioned, not once looking up from his task on the stovetop.

"Oh, there will be plenty of time for that, don't you worry." Cas teased, kissing Dean's cheek.

Cas relinquished his hold on his lover's waist and walked towards the front door where his boots still sat from the day before. He slid them on with ease and continued to unlock the door when Dean looked over to give him a questioning look.

"I forgot to get the mail last night." Cas answered Dean's questioning stare.

Their apartment wasn't in the best part of town, and because of this there was known to be some instances of vandalism and theft concerning the locals' delivered mail. Cas had tried to always make a habit of retrieving the mail every day when he got home. Some days – like yesterday – he forgot his daily task in favor of attempting to prepare dinner for his boyfriend instead.

Dean nodded in understanding and directed his attention back to the heating eggs.

Cas swung the front door open moved himself onto the front porch. He made his way steadily down the few stairs that lead to their mailbox that lined the street. He quickly fetched the few envelopes that were placed inside the box and made his way back up with a quicker pace than he had used to come.

Cas let himself in through the front door again, slipping off his boots in the same spot he left them yesterday, and sat himself down at the small kitchen table. He began to flip through the mail while he listened to Dean preparing their breakfast plates. Cas had anticipated most of the envelopes to be either bills or unexpected letters from their families (knowing Sam always enjoyed writing Dean). When Cas' hand landed on the last envelope in the pile, his heart stopped. Cas ripped open the envelope with worried, unsteady speed and grasped at its contents with shaky hands. He fell immediately silent as Dean turned towards him with their breakfast in hand.

"What's wrong, Cas?" Dean asked, setting their plates on the table next to the mail.

Cas did not respond, but only sat silently staring at his sock-covered toes. Impatient, Dean grabbed the paper from Cas' hand and read over it.

_**ORDER TO REPORT FOR INDUCTION**_

Dean dropped the draft order and fell to his knees, trying to find that familiar comfort he often found in Cas' eyes. There was no comfort there today, only the rarely explored fear of the unknown.

Their eggs went cold that morning.


	3. Wilting Birds

September 29, 1943,

The draft notice had been shocking to say the least. As much as Dean and Cas wish they could've ignored the issues concerning potential drafting for the war, there was always that nagging reminder in the back of their thoughts. They were both well aware of the anticipated draft and the likeliness of having to leave their partner behind. But for some unexplained reason, both of the men wanted to believe they were safely protected in the often forgotten lower-class suburbs of Kansas.

Their anniversary was spent with tears and reassuring hugs. Both men were trying to play a strong act for the other. Cas was given less than a week to settle his affairs at home before he had to leave.

The morning Cas left, Dean was left at the trolley stop in near tears. The two of them rarely showed much obvious affection for each other while in public, but that morning they caved in to their longing. Soft kisses and gentle brushes were exchanged while on the way to the stop. They held hands while walking through the alleys, but silently decided against looking up at each other's faces while making their journey.

They only looked up at each other once they reached the trolley stop. Dean looked up at Cas first, taking both of Cas' hands into his own. He bent his neck forward ever so slightly to be on the same eyelevel as the shorter man. Cas felt Dean's warm breath ghosting along his own cheek and looked up into the direction of those apple-green eyes he so often whispered his love to.

They exchanged teary glances and delicate touches before breaking apart and speaking.

"I'll write, Dean. I promise." Cas had said.

"I know you will." Dean tried to sound confident and amused by Cas' statement of the obvious.

"Make sure to keep in touch with Sam in case you're in need of anything. I'm certain he'll be more than understanding to assist you if you require." Cas started mumbling, averting his eyes to the ground again.

"Don't worry, I already wrote him, Cas. I told him not to worry for now." Dean assured his partner.

There was a moment of silence spent as both men twiddled their thumbs at the empty trolley stop. As if to begin speaking again, Dean started to open his mouth and let out some stuttering noises as if not knowing what exactly to say in this situation. He wasn't prepared for this moment. Dean wasn't prepared to let go of Cas.

Cas took that moment of Dean's lack of words to shorten the distance between the two of them. Cas looped his one arm around Dean and pulling him into a close embrace, while his other arm searched for the exact height to catch Dean's jawline. He took a gentle hold on Dean's cheek, and lowered the jaw into a passionate kiss. Lips smacked, saliva was traded, and tongues were searching in those last few kisses between Dean and Cas.

The wheels of the trolley could be heard rattling its way closer to the stop, and so Dean and Cas reluctantly parted from each other's hold. Cas looked up once more into Dean's eyes, and, with his thumb, wiped away a single rogue tear that was threatening to fall from his eye. Dean leaned into the touch, holding his hand in place where it rested on his cheek.

"Come back to me." Dean whispered in a shaky voice.

The trolley pulled up to the stop and the operator motioned for all passengers to board immediately. Cas spared one last kiss for Dean's soft lips and rushed himself onto the trolley's platform.

"I promise." Cas said in an equally shaky voice as the trolley began to pull away.

Dean tried to follow the trolley's path on unsteady legs, but was unable to keep pace with modern machinery. Dean was left standing in the remnants of the tracks, wiping his own tears from his swelling eyes.

Now it's been three days since Cas had left Dean alone in their no-longer cozy apartment. The halls are quiet, and the rooms are cold without the added heat from his Angel. The gold paint on the walls do nothing to lift Dean's depressed state, nor do the wilting birds of paradise left on the kitchen windowsill.

The flowers only caused Dean to think of Cas even more. Dean remembers how Cas had wanted to surprise Dean last year for their anniversary with a bouquet of berry rose flowers. He had remembered how Cas had been meaning to express his promise of love to Dean through the floral language. Dean had thanked Cas for the very thoughtful gift, but dropped a hint that birds of paradise were actually his preferred flower. This year Cas seemed to have remembered Dean's comment and purchased him a bouquet of them for their anniversary. Dean remembers when Cas presented the bouquet to him this year after their 'dessert party' that Friday night before the order was received. Dean can't bring himself to smile at the memory now.

The apartment is lonely, and Dean is left waiting with the ghost of Cas' memories.


End file.
